The Past Always Comes Back to Haunt You
by iHeartParamore
Summary: It's been over ten years since the Olympics 2012, and the Rock girls are done with gymnastics now... or so they think. Their daughters may bring them back to the sport they love and loathe.
1. Prologue

The Past Always Comes Back to Haunt You

It's been over ten years since the Olympics 2012. The Rock girls are done with gymnastics now… or so they thought.

**Emily Kmetko-Young: **Makes the Olympic team, which takes first place for the team medal. In the all-around, she places third, behind Kaylie Cruz and a Chinese team member. She places first on vault in the Olympics, and second on bars. She is now married to Damon Young. They have a daughter, named Sasha after Emily's gymnastic coach. Damon is a famous musician, and Emily is a model.

**Kaylie Cruz: **She also made the Olympic team in 2012. She places first in the all-around, and ends up giving her medal to her lifelong friend, Payson. She also places second in the floor. She is a single mother of a daughter, Sammie. Even though she is unmarried, she owns a successful leotard fashion company based in Denver.

**Lauren Anderson:** Lauren Tanner in the world of gymnastics, she made the Olympic team in 2012 solely for her beam abilities. Though she was only listed for beam and bars, after rocking the beam, she scratched badly during her bar routine. Despite this, the US team won the gold for the team. She leaves London the next day after snatching her medal when it is about to be put around her neck and storming off. Carter Anderson sees past it and marries her after giving up on Kaylie. They have a daughter, Alyssa. Lauren becomes a homemaker, and Carter is a sports newscaster for ESPN.

**Payson Keeler-Russo: **Payson hears about the surgery that could allow her to do gymnastics again, but she decides gymnastics is a past part of her life. She remains good friends with Heather, and they jointly own a children's hospital. She marries Nicky Russo after he wins the Olympic gold for all-around two years in a row. Nicky is the gymnastics coach at the Rock. They have a daughter, Lia.


	2. Chapter 1

**Emily**

It's days like these I'm glad I decided to settle down in Boulder. The snow falls peacefully, piling up like fluffy white pillows. Things were never like that in Fresno, my previous home.

I parked my car outside my daughter Sasha's school, waiting for her to come out. I can't believe she's already nine years old. It's been over nine years since I married Damon, and over nine years since I was at the Olympics.

You see, I used to be a gymnast many years ago. I didn't have any professional training until three years before the Olympics, where I was accepted into the Rock. There I bonded with my BFFs to this day: Kaylie Cruz and Payson Keeler (now Payson Keeler-Russo – she married another male gymnast from the Rock, Nicky). There was another girl in our group, Lauren Tanner, but… we don't communicate with her anymore. In the meantime, I was working at a restaurant called the Pizza Shack. There I met Damon Young, and I was in love ever since. I made the Olympic team and we placed first. I placed first on vault and second on bars by myself. Then Damon proposed to me, and of course I said yes. His band, the Shelter Pups, got a record deal, and are currently one of the most famous alternative bands in the US. I am very fortunate. Most of all, I am thankful that I am able to raise my daughter in a comfortable environment. I was raised by a single mother, and I spent my life moving around, watching my mom get heartbroken over and over. We weren't the richest, either. But that is my past. This is my present.

I watched my little Sasha come running toward my car, her little brown ponytail bouncing along with her backpack. She looks like a female version of Damon, besides her dark brown eyes and her thin figure. Those come from me.

"Hi Mom!" she immediately greeted as she opened the door and hopped in the car.

"Hey Sasha!" Whenever I said her name, it reminded me of my gymnastics coach, Sasha Belov. Without him, I would have never made it as far as I did. We email back and forth occasionally; he helps Payson's husband coach the Rock. Yes, the girl you heard about who ended her gymnastics career with lumbosacral fracture is married to a gymnastics coach. If you ask me, that'd be a form of torture. But she's happy, that's what matters.

"How was school?" I asked.

"Good," Sasha replied, her usual answer.

I smiled as I pulled out of the school parking lot.

"Mommy, can I ask you something?" Sasha leaned forward into the gap between the two front seats.

"Yes?"

"You know how you showed me those pictures and videos of you? The gymnastics?"

"Mhmm, what about them?"

"I was wondering if maybe I could do gymnastics."

My spine instantly stiffened, and I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. I was waiting for this day to come. The day Sasha asked if she could be a gymnast, too. I wasn't entirely opposed to the idea. I was open to sharing the sport I loved so much with my daughter. But at the same time, I knew with gymnastics comes multiple injuries, health problems, a career, sometimes dangerous dedication, tons of stress, and drama, drama, drama.

"You want to be a gymnast?" I repeated.

She nodded her head eagerly.

I cracked a smile. "Well, let me talk to Daddy about it."

**Kaylie**

Every joint in my body ached, reminding me of my gymnastic years. I was slumped over my desk, kneading my head, praying that this day be over as soon as possible. I gave a threatening glare to the flashing lights on my answering machine, cursing the crisis going on at the factory where the Denver Gymnastic Club's leotards had the wrong designs with the wrong coloring.

I ignored my machine and beeped in my secretary. "Jeanne?"

"Yes?" she asked from her desk next door.

"Can you bring me some coffee? Italian Roast preferably."

"Decaf?"

"Je. I have Marty Walsh screaming my ear off on the other line here and you're asking me if I want decaf."

"Sorry, Mrs. Cruz." Jeanne only called me Mrs. Cruz when she was afraid of being fired.

"Just bring me the coffee, please. A whole pot if you can." I hung up and let my head fall to my desk. Now I get to heard Mr. Walsh yell at me. Again.

Wait a minute… Marty Welsh. Marty Welsh. Why does that sound familiar? I dug in my head for the name.

OH MY GOD! COACH MARTY! Marty. He used to be my gymnastics coach. He bailed on us for Denver Club. And my mother cheated on my dad with him. And my dad never found out. My hate for Marty instantly quadrupled, adding our past to the fact he was the single most annoying and impatient customer RockSTAR Leos had.

I listened to his messages, and I would rather not repeat them, considering I'd have to * out half of the words. I called him back, and thank God he didn't answer. I told him that I would ship out the leos ASAP and that I was incredibly sorry for the inconvenience. If I wouldn't be making so much money off this deal, I would have told him to blow it out his ass.

Right when I thought my phone calls were finished and I could finally lay my head down for a few minutes, my phone rang yet again. I groaned and picked up the phone. "RockSTAR Leos, Kaylie Cruz speaking."

"Mom?" I recognized the voice as my daughter, Samantha. Sammie for short.

"Hi, Honey!" I tried to sound chipper. "What's up?"

"Are you coming to pick me up?"

Oh crap. I looked at the clock. It was 3:51. Sammie had a doctor's appointment at four, and I was supposed to pick her up at 3:30 from school. "I'm on my way," I lied, and scrambled up from my desk. "Sorry. Traffic's a bear."

"Okay. Bye."

"Love you. Bye." I quickly grabbed my purse and almost lost a shoe scrambling out of my office. I almost knocked Jeanne over as I exited, and she was holding a pot of the coffee I asked for and a Styrofoam cup. "Put it on my desk I'll be back gotta take Sammie to the doctor bye!" I called over my shoulder as I ran to the elevator. But before I got to it, I ran into my head of design, Butterfly (yes, that's her actual name), and she slipped on her stiletto heels and landed on her butt. This day just gets better and better.

**Lauren**

After about ten years of doing absolutely nothing, after ending my gymnastics career in London, I've learned that doing absolutely nothing all day is overrated. It's fun for maybe the first year, but then after that, you climb the walls.

I live for the hours between 3PM and 9AM, when there's somebody home with me, whether it be my husband or my daughter. My husband, Carter, is a newscaster for ESPN, so he leaves at nine in the morning to head to Denver and comes home at ten. My daughter, Alyssa, is in 4th grade.

The story of me and Carter is a cute one. We both were gymnasts, and we both trained at the Rock, a gymnastics club in Boulder, where we still live. He was going out with another girl, but we had sex, and then he broke up with her for me. Long story short, we were inseparable ever since. We eventually got married, and along came Alyssa.

Speaking of Alyssa, I was expecting her bus to be home about now. It was 3:30. I turned off the TV and took a peek at the newspaper on the counter that I didn't bother to look at. The front headline read "Boulder Band on Top 5 Billboard for the 4th Consecutive Week." I skimmed, and it was about the Shelter Pups. They used to be a local band, but they hit it off in California. They eventually returned to Boulder, and reside here.

I heard a knock at the door, and it was Alyssa. I let her in, and we had the usual "How was school?" "Fine" conversation. She started her homework and I read over the paper.

Out of the blue, she asked, "Mom, your maiden name was Tanner, right?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Well my teacher said that you used to be a gymnast. And you made it to the Olympics." Alyssa's blue eyes widened at this.

I was shocked for a few seconds. Carter and I agreed that it would be best to not tell Alyssa about my past. We told her about Carter, but not me, given how my career ended.

"She must be confusing me with Dad. Dad was a gymnast." It broke my heart to lie about it, but there was no way I could tell Alyssa. I was too mortified to tell her that I wasn't strong enough to face the world after I failed.

**Payson**

The best part about my job as a children's bone surgeon is that I get to save lives with so much potential. The girl who's broken leg I set could grow up to be a dancer; the boy who's skull I save could be the next Nobel Prize winner.

Then again, there are the children I can't save. The little girl with osteogenesis imperfectia who has bones so brittle they break at the graze of a finger gets a rib lodged in her lung and dies before I can even cut her open. The boy who's spinal cord gets pinched by vertebrae missing cartilage, and he dies on the table.

I try not to dwell on these things, and my new faith in God has helped me with this. Also, my husband, Nicky.

I used to be a gymnast years ago, but when I was sixteen, I got lumbosacral fracture. In other words, I broke my back and it was inoperable. I integrated myself into a normal high school and met a great friend, Heather, who runs the hospital with me. I am also still close with my Rock girls, Emily and Kaylie. While at the Rock, I met Nicky Russo. We were both the top gymnasts before I hurt my back, and he continued on to be the Olympic gold all-around winner two Olympics in a row. He now coaches at the Rock.

We have a daughter named Lia, and she's a total daddy's girl. She wanted to be a gymnast ever since she could walk, and probably even before. I swear she was doing back handsprings some nights in my belly. She's been training ever since she was seven, and anyone who watches can tell she's the daughter of Nicky Russo and Payson Keeler.

I'm not a traditional Rock parent. I work. I don't necessarily have to, but I enjoy my job. I truly love being a doctor, like I used to love gymnastics. I still do have a little soft spot for watching Lia land a standing back tuck at nine years old.

I can't even do a cartwheel anymore, it would kill my back, and it makes me sad watching her sometimes. But I am indescribably proud of Lia, and so is Nicky.

I sat in my office, looking at my degrees certifying me as a doctor. Then I looked at the pictures on my desk. There was one of me and Nicky on our honeymoon (cruise to Italy); one of me, Nicky, and Lia; Lia's gymnastics picture; and one of me and the Rock girls at our coach Sasha's wedding a few months ago.

My gymnastics coach was Sasha Belov. He married Summer Van Horn, who was the Rock's secretary when he was head coach. They have a baby on the way, too.

My cell phone started ringing, pulling me out of my thoughts. The caller ID showed it was Nicky. I immediately answered.

"Hey."

"Hey, Payson. Lia has something to tell you," Nicky said on the other line.

"Oh?" I smiled.

"Here she is." I heard him give her the phone. "Mommy I landed my Arabian on the trampoline!" she said excitedly.

"An Arabian! That's great!"

Lia handed the phone back to Nicky. He laughed into the phone. "She insisted I call you to tell you."

"She did an Arabian all by herself on the tramp?"

"Yep. I wasn't even spotting."

I sighed. "Oh Nicky. Here we go."


	3. Chapter 2

**Emily**

I laid in bed with Damon, his arms wrapped around my waist. What Sasha asked me echoed in my head all night, but I never got the heart to ask him. Damon began feeling around.

"Damon!" I whisper-yelled, but ended up giggling. "Sasha's next door!"

"She's asleep," Damon insisted, and began kissing my forehead.

"Hey… I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

Damon stopped kissing me, and looked me in the eye in the dark. "What is it?"

I involuntarily fell in love again with his voice. It was slightly raspy, exactly how it sounded when he sang. He had a beautiful voice. I wanted to kiss him up and down, but I had to keep my head on straight, at least to tell him about Sasha.

"Sasha asked me today if she could start gymnastics."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that's okay with me. I don't see why she can't follow in your footsteps."

"I feel the same way. But… well… I don't know."

"What's the matter?"

"Gymnastics is great, and I love it. But I'm not sure if I'm all-for Sasha facing all the hardships that come with it."

"Baby." Damon smoothed his hand over my hair. "No matter what you do, hardships come along with it. That's part of life."

I closed my eyes. "I know."

Damon kissed me again. "There's nothing to worry about. Let her try gymnastics. Maybe she got the gene."

I smiled. Damon always knew exactly what to say. Over the years, he'd gotten a little romantic, too.

"Speaking of the gene," Damon pulled me on top of him, "you are _very_ flexible."

"I wasn't aware this changed over the past ten years." I straddled his stomach, which seemed to maintain the abs after all these years.

"It hasn't." He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. "One of many reasons why I love you."

**Kaylie**

Somewhere around 1AM, I found my way into bed. After handling another bazillion phone calls, approving designs from my laptop, and drowning in a margarita, I was beyond beat. I collapsed onto my bed, not bother to pull back the sheets or change into comfortable clothes or wipe my makeup off.

These are days I'm thankful I don't have a husband. With a husband comes the never-ending duty of pleasing him. For which I would have no energy whatsoever. I often wonder how Payson does it. She's a doctor, for God's sake, and she still has time for Ricky… so I'm told.

Our Rock group, which consists of me, Emily, and Payson, goes out every Saturday night for drinks, to go to the spa, or do whatever and just have some girl time to talk about life. I long for Saturdays where I can just relax with my girls. I drop Sammie off at Grandma Ronnie and Grandpa Alex's house for a sleepover, and I have a night of all Kaylie time.

I turned over in bed and yawned, and slipped off my jeans. I slipped under the covers, and the cool sheets felt good. I quickly drifted off to sleep and into a vivid dream.

_I walk into the Rock, my home. Above my head is a banner, reading "Welcome Rock Alum." Something feels eerily familiar, but I ignore it._

_Everyone I remember is there, slightly older. There's my girls, Emily and Payson. Payson is in a relationship with Ricky. Emily brought Damon, and I see a diamond ring on her left finger. All the girls do a little jumping celebration with her. I also see Becca, Payson's sister, running around. She's with Brian, Emily's brother, who got a surgery a few years ago to cure his paralyzed legs. Sasha lifted the no dating rule, so Becca is going out with Brian. I'm the only one without a boyfriend or fiancé, and I feel a little bit left out._

_In the corner of the room I see a face I haven't seen in ten years. Carter Anderson. Liar. Cheater. Ex-soul mate. He immediately sprints toward me, and I try to turn away. But I can't ignore him anymore._

"_Carter! What do you want!?"_

"_Kaylie. How many times must I tell you that I'm sorry about Lauren."_

"_Carter, how many times must I tell you that it's over? It was over the night you cheated on me." _

"_That was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I'm sorry."_

"'_Sorry' doesn't cut it. Sorry won't give you your virginity back. It won't erase the fact you had sex with Lauren."_

"_I'm going to make it better. I promise."_

_I shook my head, confused. Carter grabbed my hand and led me through the back hallways of the Rock until we were in the basement._

"_Carter… what…"_

_He immediately cut it off by kissing me. I tried to push away, but he had me up against a wall. The kiss stirred up memories from the years of us sneaking around behind everyone's back. Our makeout sessions and my series of attempts to have sex with him. Except in reality, it was the other way around. Carter was undressing me, his hands running up my dress._

_I wanted to say no, but I couldn't find the words. We were on the ground, and it was a little painful, but it actually felt good. As soon as it was over, and I faced the reality of what had happened, I burst into tears._

"_Kaylie? I thought that's what you wanted."_

_For the second time, I pushed Carter away and ran. I just kept running and running._

I woke up in a cold sweat, my entire body drenched. I was reminded painfully of how Sammie had gotten here.

**Lauren**

Often in the late hours, Carter and I would sip wine while we watched a movie. If I was lucky and he was drunk enough, we would get to do a little more, if you know what I mean.

In the middle of watching _The Notebook_, I brought up what Alyssa said earlier. "Carter?"

"Yes, Lauren?"

"Earlier today, Alyssa brought up gymnastics. Her teacher told her about me."

Carter's eyes widened. "What?"

"Yeah. I lied and said she was mistaking me for you… I hope she took it." I took another gulp of wine.

"Does she want to be a gymnast now?" he asked, setting his empty wine glass on the floor.

"She didn't say anything about it."

"Would you let her do gymnastics if she wanted?" he asked.

I sighed. "I don't know. There's just… so much I'm trying to protect her from."

"Now Lauren. Are you trying to protect _Alyssa_ from gymnastics drama, or are you trying to protect _yourself_ from humiliation?" he asked.

I looked at him, shocked.

"Lauren, you can't even go out to the grocery store by yourself. 2012 was almost ten years ago. I'm sure people have forgotten."

"I just… I even feel weird sending her to school, because some day people are going to judge her on what I did. And that's not right. I just have nightmares that wherever she goes, whatever she does, people will say 'Are you gonna scratch this one like your mother?'"

"I think you're overreacting," Carter brushed me off.

I leaned back against my pillow and crossed my arms."Those bitches Kaylie, Payson, and Emily haven't forgot about it. They don't even talk to me anymore."

"Well you just stormed off without a word and they tried to help you and-"

"Carter!" I cut him off. "Who's side are you on, here? Theirs or your wife's?!"

"Baby, I'm on your side. I'm always on your side. I'm just pointing out that you never apologized for your blowup in London."

"I shouldn't have to apologize. Without my beam routine, they wouldn't have won the all-around gold."

"And you could have taken the gold individual in beam, too, if you wouldn't have left."

Suddenly we heard a sneeze, and Carter and I looked toward our doorway. Alyssa slowly opened the door, her blonde curls slightly matted from sleep. She was wearing pink silk pajamas. "So you _were_ a gymnast," she confronted.

I just sat with my jaw dropped, and my world felt like it was crashing. Alyssa started running toward her room.

"Alyssa!" I called after her, throwing the covers back and running after her. "Alyssa, wait!" She was ahead of me, and slammed her door. I heard the lock turn. I jiggled the doorknob, even though I knew it was useless. "Alyssa!" I pounded my fist on the door. "Alyssa." I broke down, and slid down to the floor. I pushed the heels of my hands to my eyes and cried. Great, now my daughter hated me.

I heard Carter walking toward me, and looked up from the floor. "Maybe if you wouldn't lie all the time," he said, "people wouldn't turn on you."

**Payson**

When I got home, Nicky was reading a gymnastics magazine, and Lia was doing homework from her home school tutor. I got right to making dinner. In the middle of chopping veggies to go in the soup, our phone rang. Nicky answered, and then called, "Pay, it's your sister."

My sister Becca was also a Rock girl. Where I was the dedicated, focused one, Becca did gymnastics purely for the fun of the sport. Though she never went as far as the Olympics, she placed extremely well at Nationals many times.

I picked up the phone in our kitchen. "Hey, Becca!"

"Payson!" I could tell she was super excited, so something good obviously happened.

"What's up?"

She squealed. "I'm engaged!"

"Oh my God!" I dropped my knife. "Becca!"

We both screamed with happiness.

"Brian?" I guessed. Becca had been dating Brian, Emily Kmetko's younger brother, for a while now. They were about the same age.

"Yes!"

"Becca, that's really great. I'm so happy for you!"

"I just… I can't believe it," she said.

"Did you tell Mom and Dad?" I asked.

"Umm…" she trailed off.

I laughed. "Well you're gonna have to, Bec."

"I don't know what to say," she admitted. "One day I'm their little girl and the next I'm gonna be Becca Kmetko."

Our conversation went on for another half hour. When I finally hung up the phone, Nicky came in.

"What was the screaming about?"

"Becca's getting engaged," I told him.

"Oh, to Brian Kmetko?"

"Yep." I smiled. "Wow. I can't believe my little sister's getting married already. This is all happening so fast." I leaned against the kitchen counter.

Nicky came over and kissed me. "Can you believe our little girl landed an Arabian?"

I laughed. "That's because she has such a great coach. I put my hands on his neck and kissed him again. This time it was for a little longer.

Eventually Lia walked in. "Mommy and Daddy sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G," she teased.

Nicky and I laughed. "Oh, believe me, Lia, Mommy and Daddy have done worse things sitting in a tree," Nicky said under his breath.

"Shh!" I hit Nicky's arm and turned back to making dinner.


	4. Chapter 3

**Emily**

Today on my break, I decided to go sign Sasha up for gymnastics classes. I know that normally gymnasts start as young as three years old, but just look at me. Alicia Sacramone began at only the age of eight, also. And even if Sasha didn't grow up to be an amazing Olympic champion, that was fine with me. Take Payson for example: she was an amazing gymnast, didn't go to the Olympics, but she now owns a hospital and is the richest out of our Rock group.

When I entered the Rock, I was welcomed by the immediate scent of chalk and dreams. Man, did I miss it. I made my way up to the office overlooking the gym. Summer was typing away on her keyboard.

She looked up as soon as I opened the door, and greeted me with a smile. "Emily Kmetko!" She stood up and hugged me, her basketball-like stomach making it a little difficult.

"Hi Summer!" I greeted back.

"So what do you need?" she asked.

"I was wondering if I could sign my daughter up for some classes. She wants to try gymnastics."

"Sure," Summer said warmly. She sat back down at her computer. "About how old is she?"

"She's nine."

Summer peered up at me. "Nine?"

I bit my lip and nodded, rocking on my heeled boots.

"That's… awfully old to be _just_ starting gymnastics, isn't it?"

"I know, but-"

"The oldest people in these pre-training classes are seven. And they already have the basics down."

"What are the basics? I mean I might be able to teach her some things."

"Well the requirements are forward roll, cartwheel, and round off. Quite a few girls have back handsprings, too."

"When do the classes start?" I asked. Sasha knows a forward roll, I'm sure I can teach her a cartwheel and round off. Back handspring could be tricky. I almost got a concussion trying to teach myself one of those.

"In two weeks."

Two weeks. That's plenty of time. Maybe by then I can get her doing a back handspring with a spotter.

"I'll take it. I'm gonna try to teach her some skills by then."

"Okay. Daughter's name?"

"Sasha Young."

Summer smiled. "I think I know where you got that name." I laughed. "Mom's name Emily… dad's name Damon… Date of birth?"

We went back and forth with Sasha's information for a little. When we were done and Summer and I were just talking, Coach Sasha walked in.

"Oh, Emily. What a surprise." He hadn't lost his accent. "What are you doing here?"

"I just signed Sasha up for some classes. She wants to try gymnastics."

Sasha knit his eyebrows. "Isn't she a bit old?"

"She's nine," I said with a shrug.

"Emily, most gymnasts start at three, you do realize this?"

"Sasha, I started at eight. And I wasn't even in a formal gym."

"Emily, you are very talented. Hopefully it's genetic. But I'm going to be coaching those classes, and I can tell you I'm not going to be easy on Sasha just because she is the daughter of one of my former gymnasts."

"I understand." I nodded. Sasha still gave me the creeps when he was all serious and coach-y.

"Does she have basic skills?"

"Not… yet. But I'm going to teach her. I mean I taught all those things to myself and with my help I'm sure she can be up to par with all those other girls in two weeks."

"Emily, I must be brutally honest. Payson and Nicky's daughter Lia trains here, and she's been landing layouts by herself. She's around the same age as Sasha."

"Look I know chances are slim Sasha will be an Olympian, but I still want to let her do this," I told him. "Give her the benefit of the doubt."

Sasha nodded. "You were a good gymnast Emily." He cupped my shoulder. "But don't put too much hope in your daughter. Miracles don't happen. They're made."

**Kaylie**

When I was driving Sammie to school, I was a zombie. My dream from last night kept playing in my head, how painfully real it was.

"Mommy?" Sammie asked.

Her voice made me jump, and I almost swerved into the opposite lane. I smacked my hand to my chest. "Sammie, don't scare me like that."

"Sorry." Her chocolate eyes drifted down. Thank God all my features were dominant. But then there was the curly hair. The unmistakable curly hair. Her hair was dark, of course, but my hair was naturally straight.

"I was just wondering about Dad," she told me.

My gag reflex worked over time. "Dad?"

"Yeah."

Sammie only asked about her dad one time before: in kindergarten, when they celebrated Father's Day. I told her the same lie I told back then. "You father died in a car crash before you were born."

"But you were never married," Sammie said.

"We were engaged," I lied again. "But he wanted to take me with him to buy the ring. And… he died before we got around to it."

Sammie nodded. "What was he like?"

I bit my lip, smearing my lipstick even more. "He was a great, great guy." I tried not to cry as I pictured Carter before he cheated on me. "He was my soul mate."

"Do you have any pictures?"

I shook my head. "I got rid of all the pictures. It's really hard, Sam."

I could tell that Sammie wanted to ask more, but she didn't. It broke my heart lying to Sammie, but I couldn't tell her the truth. What was I supposed to say? "Well, Sammie, see, your dad is married to a slut named Lauren and we had sex at a party one time and yeah, that's why you're here." Yeah, that's go over well.

**Lauren**

Another downside of being a homemaker is that you _still_ can't sleep in. I have to get up early to wake Alyssa early, and then I have to make breakfast. Today was going to be chocolate chip pancakes. In the meantime, I practically ate half the bag of chocolate chips trying to erase last night. When I was a gymnast, I couldn't eat anything fattening. I also fell into the habit of sticking my finger down my throat. Hey, I was addicted to Breakfast Biscuits.

After I ate the chocolate chips, when I was sure no one was listening, I purged. I know it's horrible for your teeth, but it helps me keep my figure. I pudged out to an hourglass figure since Alyssa, and I've been trying to lose it forever.

Alyssa came downstairs eventually, and I placed the pancakes in front of her. "Hey Mom, I've been meaning to ask you something." She seemed to have forgotten about last night. Maybe she was sleep walking?

"Sure, what is it?"

"Can I join the cheering team?"

"The cheering team?"

"Yeah. Boulder has one, and it looks really cool. They do all these flips. It's awesome."

Cheerleading. Hah. A poor gymnastics rip-off. They're all little bimbos in short skirts who do little back handsprings and wave pom-poms. [A/N: I'm a cheerleader, I'm not trying to diss them! I'm just portraying Lauren's view of them, based on "Are We Having Fun Yet?"]

"Are you sure you don't want to try gymnastics? I mean, the flips gymnasts do are a _lot_ cooler."

"But I like the skirts," Alyssa said.

I laughed. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. "Well gymnastics uniforms are less bulky. And you get ripped in gymnastics. Boys love that."

Alyssa shrugged. "Rips are for boys. And all the boys at my school like cheerleaders."

I smoothed her hair. "That's because they're no gymnasts."

Alyssa sighed. "Mom, this is the 21st century."

My jaw dropped. "I'll have you know I won a gold medal in the 2012 Olympics. That's the 21st century, missy."

Alyssa knit her eyebrows. "I thought _Dad_ was the gymnast."

CRAP. "I-I mean Dad," I corrected myself. "And he was a gymnast. That's why I picked him."

"But Dad is a boy. There're boy gymnasts at my school. And they are going out with the cheerleaders."

"You have boyfriends and girlfriends in 4th grade?"

Alyssa rolled her eyes. "I gotta go. Bus is here." She hopped out of her chair and grabbed her school bag.

Huh. Kids these days.

**Payson**

Today was busy at the hospital. Every day, in addition to saving lives, I'm reminded how stupid kids can be. Why would a thirteen-year-old by need to be "bench-pressing" a couch?

During my lunch break, I decided to go visit the gym. I haven't surprised Lia and Nicky in a while.

Before I got out of my car at the gym, I redid my bun, touched up my makeup, and added an extra spray of my perfume. Its little things like that that Nicky loves. It's amazing how putting a tiny bit of extra effort into your appearance can keep your husband interested.

I walked into the gym and immediately spotted Lia through the glass of the viewing area. She was doing back handsprings along the length of the beam. I saw Nicky on the other end of the gym, coaching a girl on bars.

"Look here, it's the high and mighty Payson Keeler!" I heard the infamous voice call.

I turned to see the face I haven't seen since Nationals 2009. Kelly Parker. I had the extreme urge to banter back, "Look what the cat dragged in," but I took the higher road.

Kelly Parker had been my mortal enemy all my gymnastics career. We were both hard-core trainers, and the biggest Olympic hopefuls. Every single year at Nationals, we both took up the #1 and #2 spots. She had ankle problems like I had back problems, and she claimed that she didn't take cortisone at Nationals. However, I caught her injecting it before my bars routine. Seeing her, I decided not to take it. That's when I fell and got the fracture. According to the doctors (and my own studies), even if I would have taken the cortisone, I would have still gotten the fracture. I just wouldn't have felt it until the cortisone wore off, and I most likely would have damaged my spine more.

"_Back_ to gymnastics, I see."

"I'm here to see my daughter and husband, thank you very much." I straightened my spine, and felt the familiar tug in my lower back where the fracture occurred. "Speaking of which, I thought you were a Denver guru."

Kelly parted her over-glossed lips slightly. "I decided since the Rock produced so many Olympic champions, it would be better suiting for my son." She turned and looked out into the gym, eyeing a dark-haired boy doing circles on the pommel horse. He looked about thirteen or fourteen. "He's the top gymnast in his bracket at the Rock. Who is your daughter again?"

"Lia Russo," I said stiffly.

Kelly looked shocked. "You married Nicky Russo?"

I sighed. "Yes, Kelly, as a matter of fact I did. Who has the cruel and unusual punishment of being your husband?" I didn't mean to say something that nasty, but it just came out.

"I happen to be married to Leo Cruz. I believe his little sister took first place at Nationals. The one you broke your back at." I knew Kelly was twisting the knife, and I was too mad to process that Kelly married Leo and Kaylie didn't tell me.

"Excuse me, but I have to go." I quickly walked away and tried to hold back my tears. I hated giving Kelly the satisfaction, but better walking away then her seeing me cry.


	5. Chapter 4

**Emily**

As soon as Sasha finished her homework that night, I was ready to get down to business. "So, Sasha, you want to start gymnastics. Before you start the classes, you need to learn a few things at home."

"I thought that I went to classes to learn everything," she said.

"Okay… think of this as another class. Except I'm going to be your teacher."

Sasha looked doubtful. "Whatever you say."

I put my hands on my hips. "Now Sasha. You're talking to an Olympic gymnast. You don't think I can teach you a few basic gymnastic tumbles?" Sasha shrugged. "Well you know how to do a forward roll, right?" Sasha nodded. "Show me." Sasha bent down and performed a perfect forward roll. I clapped. "See? That was great! That's gymnastics. Do you know how to do a cartwheel?"

"Um… can I see it first?"

Making sure I had enough room, I gracefully executed a cartwheel. _Hand, hand, point toes, foot, foot._ My vertebrae cracked when I was vertically upside down. I can't be getting old already!

"Oh, we do those on the playground all the time!" Sasha turned and did a cartwheel. She landed a little heavy, and her feet were flexed, but it was still great.

"That's beautiful!" I complimented. "Just point your toes and you're good to go. Now how about a round off?"

"What's that?"

"It's very similar to a cartwheel, except you twist in the air and land in a rebound."

Sasha gave me a puzzled look. "Twist in the air?"

"It's a lot less complicated than it sounds." I did a round off for her. "See? Just twist your body a little so that you land with your feet together."

"Okay…" Sasha took a breath and tried it. It was a tad bit shaky, but she still landed it well.

"Great job, Sasha!" I couldn't keep my smile from spilling across my face. Sasha had never done a round off in her life, and she stuck it.

Sasha smiled. "Was it really that good?"

"Amazing! Just keep practicing those, and I'll get you some gym time at the Rock so you and me can practice back handsprings."

"Okay." Sasha nodded.

I gave her a quick hug, then went to go find Damon. As usual, he was sitting upstairs in his home recording studio, strumming on his guitar. I snuck my head in and listened to the acoustic beat. I looked around the room, too, and found pictures scattered across the walls. In the far corner was a picture of him and his best friend, Razor, when they were young. Next to the right was a picture of his band, the Shelter Pups, who he is in with Razor and two other guys. And then was a picture of the 2012 gymnastic team, who went to the Olympics. Then one of my first modeling shots after winning medals at the Olympics, which led me into my career today. After that was a picture of us at our wedding (which my mother, Chloe, planned with the help of her best friend, Ronnie Cruz). Then was a picture of us in the Caribbean, when Damon decided to go a little nuts with island-hopping for our honeymoon. The next snapshot was me and him when I was eight months pregnant, and bigger than I ever was in my life. Directly after that was the first picture of Sasha, when she was only a day old. From then on were pictures of our family. I'm sure next would be Sasha's first gymnastics picture.

I didn't notice that Damon had stopped playing and was watching me stare at his walls. "You like it?" he asked.

I smiled and walked in. "Yes. I do."

Damon walked up and hugged me, slightly swaying. "I wrote a song for you."

"Damon, you didn't have to…" he cut me off with a kiss. Then he pulled away and grabbed his guitar. God, I love him.

**Kaylie**

When I got into work, RockSTAR Leos was a zoo, as usual. I was semi-late because the Dunkin' Donuts line was down the highway, but you can't really get docked pay or yelled at when you're the boss of your own company. I could come into work in jeans and a T-shirt if I wanted. Which, now thinking it over, wasn't a bad idea. Jeans & T-shirt Day. How about tomorrow?

When I got to my floor, the executive floor, I was bombarded the second I stepped out. Head of marketing needed me to approve the new ads, head of designs needed the new pallet I was working on, head of commissions forgot the bank pin code, and countless other things I needed to take care of. I fought my way to my office door, with Jeanne's help.

"Please quiet down!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "If you have a question or concern, please call and leave a message or email me. Thank you." I finally was able to retreat into my office, which was quiet. Thank God.

I dropped my bags on the couch in my office and sat down at my desk. My computer was sleeping, but my phone was ringing off the hook. My entire day from then until lunch consisted of answering phone calls and emails. Can anything _ever_ run smoothly?

When I went into the lounge to get some more coffee, giving Jeanne a break (and myself a break from all the madness), the total of three guys who worked in my company were taking over the flat screen with ESPN.

"Hey, whatcha watching?" I asked, pouring myself another cup of coffee.

"Total Access. Featuring Broncos."

"Cool." I peered up at the screen as I sipped, reading over the news bits running across the screen. Sports was mostly gibberish to me, besides gymnastics, of course. I scanned the name directly under the reporter's face, and almost choked on my coffee.

Carter Anderson?!? What the hell was _Carter Anderson _doing reporting on ESPN?!

"Hey… Kaylie… you okay?" Tyler, a man in my commissions, asked.

"How long has Carter Anderson been reporting?" I choked out.

"A while," another guy, Kevin from customer service, replied.

"Do you know him?" Justin, a scientific leo engineer, asked.

"He was a gymnast!"

"I knew that," Kevin announced.

"I used to date him!" I didn't mean to tell them that, but it kind of slipped out. Knowing I was single, without daring to connect the dots, the guys were silent.

**Lauren**

When Carter came home, I told him about my discussion with Alyssa.

"A cheerleader, huh?"

"Yep." Carter didn't really have much to say, which kind of bothered me. "But I'm a little worried about the gymnastics slip. But she didn't say anything about the other night."

"Yeah, she was probably sleepwalking."

I nodded. "Carter… I feel like we're distancing."

"What do you mean?" Carter opened the fridge and grabbed a beer, probably his second or third. Many a night did he drink himself to sleep. But he was a quiet lush, slipping easily into unconsciousness without even throwing up.

"I don't know. We don't really spend time together as a family."

"If you get Alyssa to do gymnastics, maybe we'll grow a little closer."

"I don't know. All those long hours at the gym…"

"I think it's a great idea," Carter cut me off. "She'll have something to do rather than sit around the house, and you might get a social life again."

It felt like Carter had slapped me. "Gee, thanks, _husband_!" I felt tears begin to form at the corners of my eyes.

Carter held his hands out. "Baby, I didn't mean it like that."

"All you've been doing lately is being an ass to me!"

"Lauren, I love you." Carter set down his beer and came over and hugged me.

I looked away. "Sure. Sure you do."

"I married you didn't I? You had my child."

"Don't bring Alyssa into this."

"What? Alyssa is the only reason we're still together, anyway."

"EXCUSE ME?!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I couldn't stop tears from spilling out of the corners of my eyes.

"Babe, you're hot, but you can be a bitch sometimes." Carter had no idea what he was saying, obviously, because he said it like we were having a mindless conversation about the weather. He took another gulp of his beer. I then wondered if alcohol was his only true love in the world.

**Payson**

"Kelly Parker, Nicky?!" I screamed inside the solitude of Nicky's office. "Kelly Parker?!" I repeated.

"Pay-Pay, calm down. So I coach her son. It's not the end of the world."

I crossed my arms and bit my lip. "I want that lying cheating rat away from Lia at all times, do you hear me, _at all times_!"

"Yes, Payson, please calm down." Nicky squeezed my shoulders.

I tried to relax, but my ability to box all my emotions wasn't working. All my hatred for Kelly that's been building up since I met her was finally surging out of me. I took a deep breath, trying to collect myself. "So, is that Kelly's infamous love child?" I turned and looked down across the gym I myself used to tumble around.

"I believe it is."

Before Nationals 2010, Kelly dropped out of the national team because of "further, irreversible damage to her ankles." It was announced a day after a national team practice, one that I attended to support my girls. Everyone at that practice knew it wasn't her ankles. She really pudged out, especially her stomach. Everyone knew she was pregnant. I would have loved for the general public to get a hold of that one. "National Team Member and National Champion Runner-Up Kelly Parker Gets Pregnant at Seventeen!"

"Is it Leo's baby? She said she was married to Kaylie's brother."

"I'm not sure," Nicky replied. "I don't think Leo would marry her if it wasn't his, but I haven't talked to him friend-to-friend since he left the gym."

"By the way, great of everyone to tell me she married Leo." I settled down on a chair.

"We don't like to talk about it. Apparently Kaylie near tore Leo's face off when she found out."

I smiled at the thought. Kaylie – everyone at the Rock – hated Kelly as much as I do.

I got up and hugged Nicky around his slim waist. "I just don't want anything to do with that woman. I don't want Lia even looking in her son's direction."

Nicky sighed. "Adam is twelve. Lia is nine. I doubt they even look at each other."

I looked up at Nicky. "You're three years older than me."

"Payson, stop worrying. Lia is the top girl in her bracket. She's focusing on other things than boys."

"I hope." I hugged him closer. Nicky leaned down and kissed me passionately. When we started to get a little carried away, the door to his office opened.

"Nicky, I need you to-" I immediately recognized it as Summer's voice.

We pulled away from each other abruptly.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Summer put her hand on her cheek, the diamond on her wedding ring glinting.

"No-no, I was just leaving." I re-adjusted my rumpled clothes and went to grab my bag. "See you at home, Nicky." I gave him another quick kiss and left. I couldn't help but smile. It was like we were kids again, sneaking around with each other when we weren't supposed to be dating. We never did anything _too_ bad, but since I was never a rule-breaker, I got that rush of danger in my veins whenever we made out in the corners of the Rock.


	6. Chapter 5

**Sasha**

When Mommy took me to the Rock, I was amazed how big it was. There were bars and vault apparatuses and huge spring floors. The air was full of chalk, but it didn't bother me. I felt like I was supposed to belong here, like this where I was born to be.

When I looked around, I saw dozens of girls in leos and guys in stirrup pants flipping around. I itched to get into my own leo and try out everything. Maybe one in purple with shiny fabric, or white velvet. But right now, I was in Soffie shorts and a tank top. I felt really plain next to the wispy, brown-haired girl next to me in a beautiful black and white leo.

The girl looked over at me, and I could feel myself blush. "Hey, are you training here?" she asked.

"Um, not yet. I'm starting a class in a week. But my mom is getting me gym time to work on back handsprings."

The girl nodded. "I'm Lia Russo." She extended her hand.

"Sasha Young." We shook.

"Hey, are you related at all to Emily Kmetko-Young? She's a friend of my mom's."

I smiled. Maybe I just found my first Rock friend. "She's my mom!" I searched my mind for a Russo. "Is Payson your mom?"

"Yep. But I can't believe your mom is Emily Kmetko. She was an amazing gymnast."

"Thanks." I beamed.

"If you can get into competing, we might be in the same bracket," Lia said.

"Well it'd be nice to know _somebody_," I agreed.

Lia laughed, until she was cut off by her coach. "Lia!" She looked over at him.

"That's my dad. He gets kind of mad when I chitchat. So I better go. But it was great meeting you, Sasha!"

"Nice meeting you, too!" I called as she ran.

According to my mom's stories, before Payson Keeler fractured her spine, she was one of the best gymnasts in the world. And her father, Nicky, placed well in the Olympics too. If Lia was anything like her parents, there was no way in the world I would survive gymnastics next to her. I watched her flip across the spring floor, and perform a double back-handspring layout perfectly. I couldn't even do regular back- handsprings yet.

"So are you ready, Sasha?" my mom asked. She was dressed in a basic black leo and pink shorts, with her short hair pulled back in a ponytail.

I nodded. As my mom demonstrated what a back-handspring should look like (even though I knew already), I let my eyes wonder around the gym. My gaze stopped at a bunch of boys doing tumbles across the floor I've never even seen. They looked about my age, but with muscles that rivaled Superman's. Still, they were pretty cute.

"Sasha!" Mom pulled me out of my thoughts. "Pay attention. I'm paying a lot of money for this space."

"Sorry." I dipped my head down.

"Now come here, I'll base you. You dip with your legs…"

And training had begun.

**Sammie**

I love the gym so much. The feel of mats, the smell of chalk, even the sweat on your skin and the way adrenaline pumps through your blood after tumbling. Then again, my mom was practically born here, so I guess it's just in my blood. Although I don't train nearly as rigorously as my mom did. She was in nonstop gymnastics training since she was seven; I only do seasonal skill-sharpening classes.

I have to admit I'm pretty good. I can do up to a back-handspring by myself, and I've almost got my double. I also like the vault. I enjoy running, and I love the power you build up running toward the apparatus before flipping over it.

I was stretching with my best gymnastics friends, chatting randomly about everything from Lady Gaga's new baby to chocolate-scented glitter spray. Out of nowhere, in came stomping a short, hotheaded-looking blonde girl. She was wearing a red and blue leo I recognized from the Rock's in-gym store (supplied by RockSTAR Leos). Her loose curls were tied into a ponytail that bounced behind her like a poodle tail. She stomped over the corner of the blue paneled mat and sat down, sitting with her legs in a V.

"Hey, anyone know that girl over there?" I asked the girls surrounding me. Suzie, Kristina, Tracy, and Sasha. Suz Kris and Trace are regulars like me, and Sasha is new to the gym. I've met Sasha before though, because our moms are best friends. None of the girls recognized her. "Should we talk to her?"

"She looks a little ticked…" Kristina said.

"I would be, too if I had that kind of hair." Suzie petted her long, straight platinum blonde ponytail, as if the other girl's curls were contagious.

"Hey, be nice," I warned Suz.

"I'll go talk to her," Sasha offered.

"I'll come with," I added.

"If you want."

"I guess."

Sasha and I got up slowly and walked over to the girl. She was shorter than me, and a little heavier, but not necessarily fat. As mentioned, she had blonde curly hair in a ponytail. She was wearing a purple leo that was too fancy, in my opinion, for something like this. I didn't even always wear leos for this. Currently I was wearing one, but just plain baby blue with velvety shorts. (All RockSTAR products. Hey, I get it for free.)

"You go first," I whispered to Sasha.

"Hi, I'm Sasha," she introduced herself.

"And I'm Sammie. We saw you stretching, and we were wondering if you wanted to come over with us?"

**Alyssa**

I can't believe my mom freaking made me come here. This is the single last thing I would ever want to do, and on top of it, she freaking lied.

I told my mom that I wanted to join the cheering team. She's all, "Okay honey!" Then when, quote, 'my first cheering practice' came around, she brings me _here_? "Oh, I signed you up for gymnastics, Alyssa."

Newsflash Einstein: I want to _cheerlead_, not do gymnastics! My freaking God. She is such an idiot.

"Be a good sport about it, sweetie," she told me when I got out of the car. I slammed the door on her face. I don't even want to look at her. Really I don't.

I saw a few girls my age huddled on the mat, so I sat on the opposite corner from them. They were a bunch of gymnastic freaks who have eating disorders and train how many hours a day and eat chalk instead of food (contributing to the eating disorder). I mean, if they are so skinny anyway, why do they hide it behind leotards? In cheering, the uniforms show your stomach! And the older cheerleaders in 8th grade have belly rings. Can't show those off in gymnastics, can you, Mom?

Randomly, I saw two girls walking toward me. What do they want?

"Hi, I'm Sasha," one said. She was tall and lanky, with straight brown hair.

"And I'm Sammie. We saw you stretching, and we were wondering if you wanted to come over with us?" That one was wearing a leo, and her hair was dark and curly but twisted into a bun.

"Why?" I immediately snapped.

The tall one flinched.

"Because we figured since you were alone…" Sammie started.

"I'm fine alone, did you ever think of that one?"

"Well sor-_ry_."

"You should be."

Sammie stomped off, and Sasha followed her like a puppy. I don't know why, but whenever I feel venerable I lash out. I don't stop it, though, because then people are scared of me. I like being in control.

**Lia**

It was just another day at the gym, and Daddy was helping me train my Arabian on the floor. All of the mats were being used, but I couldn't help paying attention to one boy flipping across the mat with the speed and strength I've only ever seen my dad possess in his gymnastics. He was moving so fast I could barely make out his skills. When he stopped to take a break, I could tell he was a bit older than me, almost teenager I guessed. He had dark hair and brown eyes, and looked kind of like Dad in a way.

"Adam!" Dad called to the boy. "You done with the mat?"

"Sure Nick, take it," the boy replied casually.

He looked at me a little longer than a normal person would as I walked onto the mat. "What are you working on?" Adam asked.

"Arabian," I squeaked.

"Really?" He raised his dark eyebrows. "Gee, you're young."

"Well, I _have_ been doing gymnastics since I could walk."

He laughed. "Yeah. You're Nicky and Payson's daughter. You have a lot of talent to live up to, kid."

"I think I can handle it." At that, I took off and ran and did my Arabian.


	7. Chapter 6

**Sasha**

When it was time for my first lesson at the Rock with other kids, I had everything down and was starting to land my back handspring by myself. My friend Sammie also takes the classes. I've known Sammie forever, because we were born around the same time, so my mom and Kaylie always had us on play dates. Sammie introduced me to the other girls that she knew, and they were named Suzie, Kristina, and Tracy.

While we were talking, we all took notice to another girl our age who was stomping across the mat. She was short, blonde, and looked like she was about to kill somebody.

"Hey, anyone know that girl over there?" Sammie asked.

"She looks a little ticked," Kristina said.

"I would be, too if I had that kind of hair," Suzie added. I didn't really see anything wrong with the other girl's hair. It was curly, that's it. The blonde color was actually really pretty, in my opinion.

"Hey, be nice," Suzie snapped at her friend.

"I'll go talk to her," I offered. The other three girls looked at me strangely, like I was offering to go slay a dragon that was terrorizing a country on the next continent that wasn't bothering me.

"I'll come with," Sammie jumped right in.

"If you want," I backed down slightly, due to Suzie, Kristina, and Tracy's looks.

"I guess," Sammie shrugged.

We both got up together and started walking over to the girl. "You go first," Sammie whispered to me.

"Hi, I'm Sasha," I said as genuinely as I could. The girl glared up at us.

"And I'm Sammie. We saw you stretching, and we wondered if you wanted to come over with us?"

Fire seemed to consume the girl's green eyes as she snapped venomously, "Why?"

"Because we figured since you were alone…" Sammie stammered, obviously startled at the girl's caustic reaction.

"I'm fine alone, did you ever think of that one?"

"Well sor-_ry_!" Sammie snapped back.

"You should be!" the girl returned.

Sammie stomped off, and I followed. Why was she being so mean? We just asked if she wanted to stretch with us, that's all.

"Bitch," Sammie muttered under her breath.

"You cursed," I instantly called. Then I felt stupid immediately after.

"Sorry," Sammie returned. "That just makes me mad. I just tried to be nice, she didn't have to be such a…" she seemed to be searching for the right word.

"Bitch?" I offered. I guess if my mommy's not around to hear it, it's not too bad to say it.

Sammie smiled, and I felt our friendship grow a little more. I felt like we were sharing a secret.

**Sammie**

Coach Belov was coaching our class now. I was excited; he coached my mom during the Olympics, so he had to be an amazing instructor.

We only had about a minute left of stretching after Sasha and I talked to that girl, and then Coach Belov brought us in.

"Okay girls," he started in his thick accent, "most of you know each other, but we have two new girls joining our class this season. Girls, would you like to introduce yourselves?"

The closest girl to him was Sasha, and she stood up a little straighter. "I'm… Sasha Young."

"Sasha, welcome. For those of you who don't know, Sasha here is the daughter of Emily Kmetko, a Rock alumni and Olympic champion." Coach Belov smiled, and his gaze then fell to the girl from the corner. "And you are?"

The girl gave a loud sigh. "I'm Alyssa Anderson, and I really don't want to be here."

Coach Belov looked surprised. "Oh…kay. Alyssa also has a parent who is a Rock alumni… her father was a gymnast here as well." He then clapped. "Let's get started, shall we."

While we started with cartwheels and roundoffs, I kept my eye on this Alyssa girl. She looked so darn familiar. She wasn't a fantastic gymnast, even Sasha who'd never been here before was by far superior.

"If you place your hands the same direction during your cartwheel, you'll have better balance," I offered her some help.

"I can do a cartwheel, okay? I'm not five."

"Well obviously you can't, considering you fell the last three times."

"Look, I don't need help from you, or from anybody, alright?"

"Girls, is everything okay here?" Coach Belov walked over.

"Yes, Sasha," we said in dead unison.

"Good. Now keep doing roundoffs."

Alyssa and I exchanged threatening glances. We obviously weren't going to be very good friends.

**Alyssa**

Whoever this Sammie girl was, she was majorly getting on my nerves. I could tell she was one of those girls who always has a ton of friends surrounding her, who everyone likes. But there was no way I was going to let her be friends with me. Especially when she was telling me my cartwheel sucked.

When Mom came to pick me up, she had the nerve to ask me how it was.

"It sucked," I retorted.

"Alyssa, watch the language."

I rolled my eyes. She deliberately goes and signs me up for gymnastics when I want to do cheerleading, and she expects me to _not _want to kill her?

"Why did you sign me up for gymnastics?"

"Because I thought you would like it."

"But you're not me. I know I would like cheerleading."

My mom sighed and shook her head. "Just hang in there, Lyss. You made the commitment, so you need to stick with it."

I looked at her wildly. "Um, MOM! You're the one who made the commitment for me!"

"Shh, stop yelling."

I didn't even know what to say. She was cutting me off at every point, I had nowhere to argue from.

"The girls are mean!" I instantly blurted out.

"Hun, they can't be terrible."

"Well, they tell me that my cartwheel is bad and they make fun of me because my hair is curly." I put on my puppy dog pout for good measure.

"Awh, I'm sorry sweetie." My mom patted my hand. "Who were they?"

"Well, there was this one girl, she's the daughter of Emily Kmetko…" Mom's eyes widened. "Did you know her?" I asked.

"Me, no," Mom's eyes refocused. "Your dad went to the Rock with her, though."

"Oh. But yeah, she was making fun of me, too."

"It'll stop honey, I promise."

"It'll stop faster if I just quit."

"I'm not going to hear any more about quitting, Alyssa. You're not quitting gymnastics, and that's final." At this point we were pulling into the driveway.

I unbuckled my seatbelt, got out, and slammed the door as hard as I could in frustration. Hopefully by the next practice Mom will feel guilty for the crocodile tears I'm about to dish out, and I won't have to go to the stupid Rock again.

**Lia**

In the days after that first run-in with Adam, I've been seeing him _everywhere_. He's always on the mat before or after me, he's on the bars next to mine, he's watching me when I vault. It's hard to say, but I actually… like it. I feel like I have an audience who's enjoying what I do, rather than tearing it apart by what I do wrong, like Daddy.

When I went to grab a drink on a break after falling from the bars an uncountable number of times trying a new flight element, Adam was at the water station.

"Those were some hard falls, shortie," he joked.

"Ha. You can go try it next, then."

"Nah, I think I'll pass."

What was this guy's deal?

"Lia!" Daddy called from the bars, waiting for me to go try again. "Hurry up!"

"I got to go. Shouldn't you be doing something productive?" At that I turned on my heel and walked confidently toward my dad.

"The water station is there for you to get a drink, not to chat," he scolded.

"Yes Dad, I know." I got back on the bars to try my new skill again. I jumped too far out, and my fingers just grazed the bar before I smacked down on the mat face-first.

I heard laughing behind me, and I glanced back as I got up. Adam was snickering from the men's bars.

"Adam!" Daddy instantly called to him. "Focus on your own routine. That's why you're here."

Adam dipped his head down and went back to practicing his own routine. I kept watching him while I was on the bars, and Daddy took notice. "FOCOUS Lia!" he barked.

"I'm sorry!" I finally exclaimed when I'd fallen for the dozenth time in a row, smacking the mat. I was frustrated, tired, and my entire body was sore from falling. "I'm sorry I can't do this right now."

"Maybe if you focus on your stunt instead of looking around the gym, you would land it. Where's your focus, Lia?"

"Lemme guess, 'Why can't I be more like my mother?' That was next, wasn't it?" I confronted him with glossy eyes.

"Lia…"

I shook my head and walked toward the locker room. I heard footsteps behind me, and I wasn't surprised to see Adam.


End file.
